


Fair Trade

by Tillthewheelsfalloff



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Fix-It, Forgiveness, Implied James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers - Freeform, One Shot, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), The Avengers Need a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-21 13:01:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14915853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tillthewheelsfalloff/pseuds/Tillthewheelsfalloff
Summary: After the events of Infinty War, the Avengers have realised that the only way to get everybody back is a trade. One person must die for the rest of the universe.





	Fair Trade

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Sleepymoritz for beta reading

As Steve stood in the doorway of the lab just after 2 AM, he could see that it was empty asides from Tony. He was hunched over his desk, tweezers in one hand as he worked on his Iron Man armour. The golden Infinity Gauntlet sat within easy reach of him.

The gauntlet always drew his eye whenever he was in the room - it was hard to believe such colossal destructive power could be held in a such a innocuous, if beautiful, object. However, he and all the Avengers knew if they put it on the power would most likely kill them, and for reasons unknown to them all, Tony was able to use it without ripping himself apart.

Steve would never forget the day Tony and Nebula crash landed back on Earth a few days after Thanos won. Tony had stepped out of the ship much too gaunt, too pale, with a bloody bandage around his torso, but he was alive. His eyes had lingered on each of them. Steve could see the relief spread through him when he saw Rhodey, but when he saw Pepper he started crying, tripping over himself in his need to get her into his arms.

It had been a year since then; a year spent searching for and fighting Thanos. Everybody had become obsessed with it; for the past year they hadn’t taken a single day off.

Tony had been the worst for it; he had lost the weight he couldn’t afford to lose, and he spent every waking moment in the lab trying to improve his armour and finding ways to defeat him. They did it, Thanos was dead now. They found him and managed to get the gauntlet off him, Tony had put it on his own hand and killed the monster.

But they hadn’t won, not until the other half of the universe was back.

According to Red Skull on Vormir - and God wasn’t that weird seeing him again - it would require a trade, one life for the rest of the universe.

“Fuck!” Tony shouted followed by a crash, swiftly pulling Steve out of his thoughts.

The tweezers were on the ground by the far wall and Tony was gripping his left wrist, which was shaking violently enough that Steve could see it from across the room.

“Need a hand?” Steve called out.

Tony jumped, and reached for the gauntlet before seeing Steve and relaxing minutely. “Cap.” He chuckled and smiled self-deprecatingly. “Yeah, a new one would be great. Thanks.”

Steve walked into the room and leant on the table. He and Tony weren’t friends, and they had avoided the topic of Siberia like the plague, but that didn’t stop Steve worrying about Tony. “The gauntlet giving you trouble?”

Tony hid his arm beneath the desk and in a typical avoidance of anything ever asked about his health, Tony asked, “What are you doing here?”

Steve stood up straight, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He had made his decision and knew Tony wouldn’t fight him on his for once.

“We’re wasting time,” Steve said simply.

“What?”

“The team have been arguing about who will be the trade for almost a week now.”

Tony scoffed. “ _Trade_. Just call it what it is, Cap, a sacrifice. Somebody I have to _kill_ ,” Tony hissed. “Are you sure nobody else can wield this thing?” Tony flicked the gauntlet with his right hand.

“Yeah. For which I’m glad. If anybody else could, then I know you would be doing what I’m doing right now.” Steve paused, letting the meaning sink in.

Tony’s eyes widened slightly and finally gave a small nod. “Yeah. Although you’ve left it a day or two longer than I would have.”

Steve rolled his eyes; it was always a competition, but for once it felt more like a joke than a real dig at him. “Are you going to fight me on this and waste more time?”

Tony stared intently at Steve for a few moments, as though he was trying to read him. Steve stood silent, giving Tony the time to think it over. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Y’know, I’ve been expecting this.” Tony stood up and moved to the far wall. Steve watched him, confused, until Tony pressed his right hand against the wall and a panel slid open to reveal his shield hanging within. It had been repainted since the fight and T’Challa’s panther mark scratches were gone.

Steve walked towards it feeling numb. He reached out a trembling hand towards it.

_“That shield doesn’t belong to you. You don’t deserve it. My father made that shield!”_

Steve pulled his hand back as though it had been burnt.

“It’s yours, Steve. It’s always been yours. You should get to hold it again before I-- well, before.”

“Are _you_ sure?”

“About as sure as you are right now.”

Steve stepped forward and lifted it from the wall. It had never felt so right before that moment, like a lost limb. For the past year he’d been using shields built into his armour that Shuri had created for him, but nothing had felt as much of a part of him as this shield did.

He couldn’t quite believe Tony was giving it back to him. He had hoped of course for the past year fighting together that Tony would do so. Instead, he had offered improvements to his arm shields and ignored any mention of this shield. For him to give it back now was as upsetting as it was incredible.

“Do you know how it’ll work?” Steve asked quietly, hoping his voice didn’t betray his fear. He kept his eyes locked on the shield. “Will everybody come back to where they were?”

“I think so.”

“What about Peter? Won’t he be on Titan?”

“Yeah, he’ll be with Strange and the Guardians, they’ll make sure he gets back to Earth safely.” Steve hadn’t met any of them, but Tony had a odd certainty to his voice that made Steve trust them immediately.

“We should go to Wakanda then, most of the Avengers will be there.”

Tony didn’t reply for a moment. Steve looked towards him, waiting for a response. Tony worked his jaw, trying a to speak a few times before he finally asked, “should we wake the others?”

“No, they’ll only try to stop us and it’ll be another week of arguing.”

Tony nodded and picked up the gauntlet. Tony had always projected authority, that was why they struggled to get along from the start, but when he wore the gauntlet, Tony looked like a God.

“Lets go.”

Tony stepped to Steve’s side and closed his fist. Steve knew he’d never get used to traveling like this, being pulled backwards and for a few moments all he can see his darkness and clouds swirling past him. He closed his eyes as the dizziness hit and when he opened them again, he found himself surrounded by trees.

The forest was alive with sounds, birds tweetings, wind blowing causing leaves to rustle, crickets chirping, and if he really listened, he could hear the city of Wakanda in the distance.

“Let’s not waste anymore time. Do it, Tony."

Tony gave a small nod and lifted his left hand. “I’m sorry.”

Steve took a deep breath. He wasn’t sure how this was going to work but if Tony said he could do it, then he could do it.

The snap of his fingers echoed around the forest, followed by an absolute silence. Not even the birds made a noise for a few beats. The buzz started almost imperceptibly, growing steadily louder. Steve could feel the static on his body, like touching the cheap old TV he had gotten in his apartment before he joined the Avengers and Tony made him replace it, but even that grew stronger until the air was giving him electric shocks.

Within a blink, the forest became full of people. Steve looked around to see Sam, Wanda, Groot, T'Challa, a few other people he didn't know, and _Bucky_.

Bucky stood only a few meters from Steve, eyes wide but he was grinning widely at him. The buzzing had stopped and the forest resumed its usual noise.

Steve went to call out, to say something but when he opened his mouth, he started coughing - large heaving coughs that hurt his entire body. He looked down at his hand, finding it covered in blood.

"Steve?!”

Steve dropped the shield as his knees gave way and strong arms caught him moments from hitting the ground.

God, this wasn’t how he expected it to go.

Bucky pulled Steve onto his lap, his metal arm resting on his chest gripping his t-shirt, his flesh hand threaded through Steve’s hair. " _Steve_? What's wrong? Stark? Don’t just stand there, help him!"

"I'm sorry," Tony whispered. He stepped out of Steve’s eyeline and he could hear other footsteps moving away.

Steve placed one of his hands on Bucky’s metal hand, lacing their fingers together. "Bucky, it's okay. It was the only way." The effort of speaking brought on another coughing fit.

Bucky helped him on his side until the coughing had passed, leaving a puddle of blood on the ground.

When Steve was twelve he had gotten scarlet fever and spent a month in bed, but even once the scarlet fever had passed it had given him pneumonia. The entire time, Bucky barely left him alone, as soon as he was done at work he would be back in Steve’s room. They spent so many days and nights lying just like this, with his head in Bucky’s lap, as his best friend nursed him to health.

"Steve, don't you dare die, okay?” Bucky hissed. “I told you not to be stupid whilst I was gone."

"I couldn’t. You took... all the stupid... with you," Steve whispered. It was getting harder to talk and his eyes drooped closed.

He thought he should be scared, he had been when he crashed the plane into the ocean, but now he just felt a strange sense of calm, he felt like he was floating.

A sharp pain on his cheek forced his eyes open again to see Bucky glaring at him, the edge taken off by the tears running down his cheeks. "Stay with me punk. We can get you help." Bucky’s voice broke on the last word.

"It's the... end of the line,” Steve tried to joke, Bucky was crying and that wasn’t right.

Bucky shook his head. "I can't do this without you."

"Yes, you can."

"Steve, please don’t go,” Bucky begged.

Steve just smiled weakly at him. It was too hard to talk now. His closed his eyes and let out a shuddering breath.

He was gone before he could hear Bucky's anguished scream.

**Author's Note:**

> You can yell at me on https://mcshepkree.tumblr.com/  
> All comments and concrit are welcome!


End file.
